The current Kane County Correctional facility was first open in 1975 with the capacity to house 135 inmates. Since that time, there have been many additions and modifications that have increased the capacity to 400 inmates. There are many reasons a person may be detained in the County Jail. The following is a list of some of those reasons:

• A person has been charged with a crime in Kane County and is awaiting trial. These crimes can range anywhere from a traffic violation to murder.
• A person has been found guilty of a crime and is waiting for a sentence.
• A person has been sentenced less than a year for a crime, and is serving that sentence in the County Jail.
• A person has been sentenced to a year or more and is awaiting transfer to the Illinois Department of Corrections to serve that sentence.
• A person may be held in the Kane County Jail on a warrant from another jurisdiction awaiting transfer to that jurisdiction.
• The courts may find a person to be a material witness and order that person to be held in the County Jail pending their testimony.
• A person may be held for a limited amount of time while an investigation of a crime is being conducted.

Regardless of the reason someone is being held in the Sheriff's custody, certain services must be provided. In many ways the jail is its own city. The following is a list of some of the services and programs the jail operates.

• Food Service - the jail must without exception serve each inmate three (3) balanced meals each day. That totals 1,095 meals a year for every inmate.
• Healthcare Services - the jail contracts for a complete medical staff that includes an onsite Doctor, Dentist, Mental Health works, Nurses and Emergency Medical Technicians. A nurse is required to be onsite 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
• Mail Services - the jail processes all incoming and outgoing mail correspondence. This mail is scrutinized to detect criminal activity, escape attempts and court order compliance.
• Commissary Services - the jail operates a general store type of service. This allows inmates to purchase basic need items such as personal hygiene items, writing items, over the counter healthcare products and food products.
• Banking Services - the jail maintains an account for every inmate. The inmate may use this account to purchase items from Commissary, co-pays for medical services and/or to apply to their bond.
• Phone Services - the jail provides phone service for the inmates. This includes the sale of phone cards and a complete tracking of all calls made.
• Educational Services - the jail offers many different educational programs that include GED, Health Awareness, Religious, Drug Awareness, Mental Health Awareness, and self esteem. This is an important part of returning inmates back into society.
• Spiritual Services - the jail offers a wide range of religious services to meet the needs of all inmates.
• Work Programs - the jail maintains different types of work programs that include a Female Garden/Work crew, in-house work details, Community Service and Work Release.

All of these programs and services help maintain a productive and calm atmosphere and must be done in a manner to ensure safety and security is never compromised.